Man rescued from sunken ship after three days (Video)

Man rescued from sunken ship after three days (Video)

A man who spent three days trapped in an air pocket of a sunken ship was discovered by divers, turning a search for dead bodies into an incredible rescue operation.

Recently released video taken by DCN Diving captured the intense rescue.

Harrison Okene, 29, was a chef on the Jascon 4, an oil company’s ship, when the boat capsized and sunk 100 feet into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria in May due to heavy ocean swells, Reuters reported at the time.

As the ship sunk, Okene was washed away by the rushing water.

Okene told Reuters:

[quote]Three guys were in front of me and suddenly water rushed in full force. I saw the first one, the second one, the third one just washed away. I knew these guys were dead.[/quote]

Of the twelve members on the crew, Okene was the only survivor, finding refuge in a small air pocket of the ship. The lone survivor began pulling paneling from the walls to use as a raft. For three days he drank Coca Cola, unable to eat or drink water, according to the BBC. Even worse, the salt water started to take the skin off his body and tongue.

[quote]I was there in the water in total darkness just thinking it’s the end. I kept thinking the water was going to fill up the room but it did not.[/quote]

Despite surviving in pitch-black conditions, Okene said he knew he wasn’t alone.

[quote]I couldn’t see anything, but I could perceive the dead bodies of my crew were nearby. I could smell them. The fish came in and began eating the bodies. I could hear the sound. It was horror.[/quote]

DCN Diving, a South African scuba diving team, thought they were diving down into the ship to recover those dead bodies, according to The Metro.

The video, taken by diver Nico Van Heerden, features high-pitched voices. Gizmodo reports this is usual for divers breathing in a helium-oxygen mix used in deeper dives.